CMS Provost
CMS Provost (VHC-368) was an Imperial ''Vindicator''-class cruiser that had, after a moderate service history in the Galactic Empire, joined Admiral Dergan Roj's Barren Sector Fleet around 2 BBY. She spent the next years as an able warship in Roj's fleet until becoming a foundational part of the new Caspian Navy. Her performance record and potential allowed Caspia to focus on improving and accumulating ships so as to bolster the Navy's numerical standing, and she served as one of the Union's "heavy" warships. Unfortunately, Provost was lost after a terrific duel with the Star Destroyer ''Tyrant'' during the opening stages of the Caspian Annexation Campaign. From Launch to Liberty The Barren Times She had been part of the Proclaimer-batch of Vindicator heavy cruisers built by Sienar Fleet Systems. Roj himself found it incredibly ironic that the Vindicator cruisers were designed by his old arch-rival, Wilhuff Tarkin, yet here was one following his own doctrine. Coming to the Union Unlike ''Repulse'', Roj's flagship, Provost managed to survive the Barrenness Excursions and the Battle of Endor in a repairable state. She was patched back together by SubPro and Lokkai technicians, and deployed into the newly-formed Caspian Navy in 4 ABY. Aside from the carriers, only Provost and ''Hood'' represented significant battlewagons for the Union until the hasty development of the Daring-class Battlecruisers. Provost would spend most of its time as guardian of the Caspian star system, augmented by several other ships to bolster its aging capacities. She was commanded by Captain Abram Triplet, a veteran of the Barren Sector Fleet. A Defiant End When an Imperial diplomatic fleet arrived in 8 ABY to conduct commissariat talks with the Crest, Provost acted as the "heavy", coordinated by flagship [[CMS Typhoon|CMS Typhoon]]. While Typhoon was further off to maintain observation over all nine Imperial starships present, Provost was placed closer to Caspar inline between the Star Destroyers ''Emperor Valak'' and ''Tyrant''. Suddenly, without prior warning, Tyrant opened fire on [[CMS Warder|CMS Warder]] and obliterated the Caspian warship. While the initial shock was just starting to seep in, some twenty additional Imperial warships jumped in-system, and began to aggressively attack the spread out CDU Third Fleet. Courageously, Captain Triplet turned Provost onto Tyrant, and engaged. As Tyrant swung its attention to other targets after dispatching Warder, Triplet knew from experience that to trade optimum distance shots with a full-sized Star Destroyer was going to leave his charge with a disadvantage. To try and delay Tyrant as long as possible, to give the rest of Caspar's defenses the best chance to respond, became paramount. Triplet directed the helm to execute an audacious maneuver, wherein the smaller cruiser crosses the Star Destroyers axis and then pivots to point right at it, and then bore in at full speed. She scored a few solid hits, but this caused nominal damage and did nothing more than to "slap the face" of the larger warship. The move did serve to capture the Imperial captain's attention, however, and as Provost passed by it, Tyrant swung about to bring its primary batteries to bear. As soon as Triplet realized what was afoot, his crew guided Provost into a turn that pitted the two ships into a tense spiral. Triplet knew that if he tightened the spiral, he'd have no room to maneuver further, while if he relaxed the spiral, Tyrant would complete her turn and with all guns at optimum range and bearing on Provost, it wouldn't have a chance. It became a delaying game, and Provost's crew could only hope the Union forces could rally during the time they were buying. After nearly fifteen minutes of holding the spiral, and absorbing or eluding some sixty salvos, Provost was finally bracketed by Tyrant and three successive scoring hits blew the remaining shields off and compromised the main engine drive. Two more hits left the heavy cruiser a perforated, drifting hulk. This delay, however, possibly saved utter devastation of the Victoria Drydocks and several other Union ships. Roughly a third of her complement survived in the wreck, and after the battle was over, the ship was approached by Imperial rescue and repair crews. The grievously wounded were being taken off, and Captain Triplet was in discussion with his counterpart on the Imperial ship when it was conveyed that this wreck was the only ship getting this treatment, due to its Imperial origin. Triplet immediately halted the endeavour, and ordered his crew back aboard the still-in-danger wreck, stating that he would not allow any form of rescue or aid until all other Caspian ships in peril were attended to first. The stunned Imperial officer dropped lines and returned to his superiors, whereupon intense discussion erupted among Warlord Rellik's command staff regarding what to do about Caspian survivors and prisoners. Rellik, knowing that he was under a timetable, but having a slight degree of civility towards such a defiant opponent, compromised the situation and ordered that rescue efforts regarding Caspian survivors should commence only after sufficient resources were secured and all Imperial survivors were attended to first. Three days later, the Imperial crews returned to Provost's still-smoldering wreck and queried to see if any survivors were still alive. In a testament to Imperial design, Triplet and his surviving crewmembers were indeed still alive, but were in poor health. Triplet and the very few able-bodied of his remaining crew refused respite until the other Caspian victims were searched for survivors. Nearly a week of defiance later, Triplet and a scant thirty-seven of his crew were recovered from the Provost's shattered remains. Provost